This article introduces a new construct coined as Computer User Learning Aptitude (CULA). To establish construct validity, CULA is embedded in a nomological network that extends the technology acceptance model (TAM). Specifically, CULA is posited to affect perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, the two underlying TAM constructs. Furthermore, we examine several antecedents of CULA by relying on the second language learning literature. These include computer anxiety, tolerance of ambiguity, and risk taking. Conceptualization of CULA is based on the observation that computer systems use language as communication between the computer and the user, making system usage significantly dependent on the ability of the individual to learn the language. We posit that learning to communicate with computer technology is akin to learning a second language, that is, a language learned after the first language(s) or native language(s), and is referred to as computerese. The proposed construct, CULA, measures the aptitude of an individual to learn computerese, and it is specified as a second-order variable. It includes measures of three critical facets of computerese pertaining to general hardware/software, programming, and the Internet. Significant relationships are found between computer anxiety, tolerance of ambiguity, and taking risk with CULA, as well as between CULA and TAM constructs.

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Purpose IT security breaches plague organizations worldwide, yet there continues to be a paucity of comprehensive research models for protective technologies. This study aims to develop an IT security user behavior model focusing on the protective technology anti-spyware which includes organizational climate, a theory of planned behavior (TPB) background variable and elicited salient user beliefs. Design/methodology/approach A multimethod approach, including interviews and a survey, is used to elicit salient user beliefs and test hypotheses of the influences of perceived IT security climate on those user beliefs and ultimately user behavioral intentions. Primary data were collected through interviews following the prescribed TPB methodology and an offline survey method with 254 valid responses recorded. Partial least squares was used to investigate the hypotheses. Findings The authors found that attitudinal beliefs – protecting organizational interests for data/privacy, preventing disruptions to work and control beliefs – monetary resources and time constraints mediate significant relationships between IT security climate and attitude and perceived behavioral control, respectively. Implications are discussed. Originality/value This study is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that uses both interviews and a survey to examine the relationships among IT security climate, elicited user beliefs and behavioral intentions in a TPB-based model for a protective technology.

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Capps and Glissmeyer (2012) proposed an extension to the Internal FactorEvaluation and External Factor Evaluation matrices that included an InternalCompetitive Profile Matrix and an External Competitive Profile Matrix, which usea forced ranking that provides greater understanding of the internal and externalcategories to which an organization must attend. Cassidy, Glissmeyer, and Capps(2013) mapped an Internal-External (I-E) Matrix using traditional and extendedtechniques to enable a greater comparative understanding of the relative strengths,weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of respective companies in an analogousCompany Comparison Internal-External Matrix using horizontal analysis. Thismatrix approach to strategic analysis and decision-making is presented in FredDavid’s Strategic Management, 16th edition (2016). A traditional Competitive ProfileMatrix (CPM) is a corporate-level analytic tool that uses critical success factors. Thispaper offers a conceptual expansion of the CPM to include a Production/OperationsManagement CPM, Marketing CPM, Human Resource Management CPM, Finance/Accounting CPM, Research and Development CPM, and an Information SystemsCPM to provide additional strategic decision-making analytical tools. If analyticalthoroughness is a major goal, then expanding the CPM into the six functionalbusiness areas should provide further depth of analysis and more in-depth insight.